Hello from our Photography Studio in Heathfield

We had such a lovely morning photographing a lovely young newborn who came into our Heathfield studio with his parents and big sister for a Newborn Baby Art Photoshoot.

He was just 9 days new and this is an ideal age to have his first baby photographs taken as a gorgeous newborn and he was an absolute dream to photograph, he just slept his way through most of the shoot; what a chilled young man and here is a little taster of one of the images Sarah captured.

His mummy had been given one of our Ultimate Newborn vouchers as a gift at her baby shower. For those who are not aware you can purchase one of our Ultimate vouchers from our studio or website for £99 and this is will give you lots of special gifts including four photoshoots. The maternity photoshoot includes hair and makeup by Melissa Tate Batchelor our resident hair and makeup artist, a Newborn Baby Art Photoshoot, Little Sitters photoshoot along with a My first first year and or a Cake Smash. The voucher also comes with a few goodies, a hand knitted cashmere snugly from Sue Hill Handknits and a small cuddly toy, it doesn't end there though as you will have a complimentary 8x6 inch photograph with your maternity and newborn baby art shoot and vouchers toward products with the remain two shoots. Definitely an ideal gift for baby showers, newborn baby and christening gifts. Just click here for more information.

We can't wait to see this gorgeous little chap next week with his parents to view his lovely newborn baby art images.

As you probably know East Sussex Photographer Sarah is the Click Photographer of the Year 2016 and the team are chuffed to little mintballs for her. However, what has made us all really happy is there are more reasons to celebrate because the family of the winning image have also won £500.00 too.

The Derbyshire family are the lucky winners of the £500.00 because the image of their daughter Erin was the one that clinched the photographer of the year title for Sarah.

They were over the moon and have decided to spend their £500.00 winnings on doing something nice with the children.

Now we know you are all going to groan but we have to say it; at Sarah Tate Photography everyone is a winner :)

We just want to say a big thank you to Erin for being a little superstar and to Mum and Dad for bringing her along to us for a shoot.

Today I want to introduce you to Benjamin who was born a bonny 7lb 7oz. I have known James for many years and it has been lovely to be able to witness this wonderful life milestone.

Coincidentally Elizabeth did as many mums to be do and joined Emma's Diary. It really is a great club to join if you are expecting as firstly it doesn’t cost you anything to become a member and you receive all sorts of goodies such as money off vouchers, free competition entries, a great forum to chat and share experiences along with all sorts of free goodies from Pampers and Johnsons, which will be invaluable when setting things up for a new arrival.

The other big thing with Emma's Diary is members get access to complimentary shoots with their local photographer and yep you’ve guessed it I am our local Emma’s Diary photographer and it was a real pleasure to welcome Elizabeth and James to the studio with young Benjamin. He was a little star and gave me just the cutest poses. It also gave me the chance to use some new blankets that are as soft as soft; I love them and they will be regularly used I think!!!

When Elizabeth and James come for their viewing they can choose an image that will be entered into the Emma's Diary Baby of the Month competition and this gives them the chance to win some monthly prizes. If they win they also get the chance to win the ‘biggy’ at the end of the year. It is great as it’s a way of showing off the beautiful babies I photograph and the chance to win prizes too :)

I hope you like the images as much as I do and I cannot wait to see Benjamin again as I know he can only keep getting cuter.

Happy Sunday and keep an eye out for Baby of the Month; if you see it, vote for our little Benjamin.

We had a very busy 2015 and it has been so lovely to welcome new clients and welcome back returning ones. So let's ring in the new year with new little lives and we wanted to showcase some of our Sussex baby photography.

Last year we invited a few lucky people to come along for a Sussex baby photography session because we wanted to try out a different style of photography and to experiment how it can mix in with our usual more contemporary style of newborn. Here is just a selection of images and what a bunch of beauties we had come to the studio. We just want to say a big thank you for allowing us to photograph your precious newborns.

If you are expecting a baby in February and March we have 5 complimentary Sussex baby photography slots available to welcome in the New Year, so get in touch with us on 01435-862793 to reserve your space. Don't worry your booking doesn't have to me made until your little one makes his or her arrival.

A little while ago we asked who would be willing to come along to our studios for a complimentary boudoir photography or dudeoir photography session because so many ladies and gents are extremely shy about this type of boudoir photography.

Well the lads were useless and nobody came forward but the girls did not disappoint and we chose at random some lucky ladies to take part. In return they agreed to be interviewed, and allow the images to be public so we could show the world how beautiful and tasteful boudoir photography is.

I love this type of photography so was chuffed to little mintballs that so many people wanted to take part. It was pure joy to photograph you all and finally I can release the first batch of images; I hope you all love them as much as I do. We have a very lovely slideshow on our facebook page so pop along and have a look :)

In celebration of the ladies of Sussex being brilliant the studio has released five complimentary boudoir shoots for November, so if you are interested we would love to hear from you.

Enjoy this beautiful and tasteful photography and once again to all those that took part, thank you allowing me to photograph you all.

We are offering a fantastic opportunity for you to experience a Boudoir or Dudeoir experience with Sarah. This is the ideal time to have a shoot and surprise your loved one with some fantastic images as they have never seen you before and these would be ideal as Christmas presents.

You will have a 2 hour shoot that will include hair and make-up and this is the perfect moment to indulge in some 'you' time. When you pop back for your viewing you can choose a complimentary 10 x 8 inch print and we are also offering a £50.00 voucher towards any wall art or print box that you may purchase with us.

All we ask to secure the booking is a £45.00 refundable deposit from you.

This offer expires on 31st October, 2105 and all sessions must be completed by 30th November and viewings by 10th December.

Please click here to make an enquiry and we will be in touch with you to secure your booking.

I have some wonderful and exciting news; I have achieved my Associateship with the Master Photographers Association and what a whirlwind few days that has left me happy but exhausted!!

The panel was something very close to my heart; maternity and newborns but with a twist. I wanted to convey the myriad of emotions that surround this stage of a woman's life and not all of them will be brimming with brightness. I spent many months perfecting the style of photography and post production that would be used for the panel. Part of a photographer's progression when aiming for a qualification at this level is to really start to cement the style that will instantly place an image to them and it's harder than it looks!!! This process started about three years ago and the learning that has taken place in that time is immense.

Tony, my Husband who has been a tower of strength to me, and I decided to make the trip to Newcastle early so we could settle ourselves in and take in a glimpse of this wonderful area.

There was also another good reason as the MPA holds its qualification and competition judging over consecutive days. The competition judging is done first and the initial stages are open so members can apply to attend and watch the judging take place. Tony and I thought this would be a great opportunity to observe and boy are we glad we did. I personally absorbed so much good advice from witnessing the judging first hand and to see how a panel of judges works together to get the right result for each and every image placed before them. I know it's a long way to go but we both felt it was a real privilege to be able to watch the first stage of the judging process. Any images that received a Merit would be judged in private to then decide the winners and I must say I am very excited to see who the lucky winners are at the very prestigious awards dinner on 18th October. For anyone lucky enough to get an e-mail saying they are a finalist, be proud because your image has had to go a long way to get this accolade and they are not given lightly either!

So on day two my nerves were at their peak, this was it D-Day and part of me wanted it over and done with, the other part wanted to stay in the current status quo - as they say ignorance is bliss! I was called in and the relief when I was told I had attained my Associateship was indescribable. I had to gather my thoughts very quickly as the judges were wonderful in the advice they gave me, all of which will be taken on board as the next stage for my progression will definitely be my Fellowship.

I also want to say a heartfelt thank you to all those to mentored me. Kevin Pengelly when I started on my Associateship journey then the wonderful Emma Duggan and Kevin Wilson who's advice has been invaluable, without all of you I would not be the photographer I am today, so thank you :) I just want to give an extra shout out to Emma who stayed up with me until 3.45 am one morning whilst we went through each image prior to being sent to The Print Foundry for printing. She has been so committed to me and this whole process is really quite emotional and exhausting.

To my amazing clients; without you, your patience and understanding this panel would never have materialised xxx

To the MPA; thank you for an amazing couple of days and thank you for allowing Tony and I to witness the public judging. By the way those who don't do it you are missing a trick and if you can spare the time next year then I highly recommend it. To the judges of my panel; thank you for all your valuable and insightful advice that will be used when I embark on my fellowship journey.

As for the panel you may be wondering why it is not visible? Well the nature of the panel is very personal and I want to respect all the people that agreed to take part. They have been kind enough to allow me to capture them and their little ones so I really must respect the privacy they are also entitled to. However, it's not all bad as we are having an open day in February to celebrate 10 years of the studio in Heathfield so the panel will be displayed for one day only!!! If you want to see it then keep your eyes peeled for the date :)

So now it's time to come down from the high of the last few days and get back to work. I am exhausted but very, very happy!!

Well it has been a very busy summer for the team and on a personal note I have become a Grandmother for the third time! Grandmother I hear you say, you don't look old enough….oooh you are kind and yes I am placing myself firmly in the yougn and fun category ;)

So today I want to celebrate all things family and introduce to you the lovely Sykes family who came to the studio wanting a complete series of shots. They have two sons one of whom has a lovely girlfriend, a daughter and of course their doggie who may be little but is a huge member of the family!

I wanted to concentrate on my more contemporary high key photography as the nature of the shots I wanted to create for them really suited this. We did all sorts of family configurations whilst having tremendous fun; all shoots here are fun as I just love to laugh and be a bit silly really :)

They were over the moon with their shoot and I was a pleasure to create their framed photographs and image box, which is proving very popular with my lovely clients.

We are also very excited to be exhibiting at the French Market in Heathfield over the bank holiday weekend. We also have the honour of photographing the event and this is something we look forward to every year. There is definitely an incentive to pop along to see us as we will have lots of offers available on the day that you can only grab if you come to the market so if you are in the market for a Sussex family photographer and want to grab a bargain we are the team for you, so come along and see us you won't be disappointed. We will be exhibiting some of this year's most popular products so you can have a good old browse whilst munching on some goodies from the other vendors.

Are you proud of your tattoos? Then "Get your TATTS Out" for the tattoo competitions where there is a first prize worth over £2,000.00 up for grabs!!!!

If you have a tattoo you will know the care and time that you took thinking, designing and thinking again before ink touched skin to create your body art, so why not show the world the masterpiece that adorns your body. Get Your TATTS out is a nationwide competition open to anyone over the age of 18; entry is simple through the link below and you will then be contacted by your local photographer (i.e. me :) ) to pop along to the studio to for a phototshoot to get that perfect shot to enter into the competition. Once I have edited them, you can pop back for a viewing and the image is selected for entry into the competition…it's that easy!

The winner will be notified in the second week of April, 2016, so what will the winner receive in prizes?

• A £350.00 sitting at the celebrity tattooists New Wave Tattoo parlour in London
• A modelling contract
• A £1,000.00 top modelling portfolio
• 12 months membership to the gym
• Oh and a mystery cash prize….I love a mystery, makes it all so much more exciting!

This is not the end because there are more prizes to be added as the tattoo competitions progress but hey I don't think that's a bad start!

As you will be coming to me I would love it if you could let me know if you have entered so that I can keep any eye out for your names when I am contacted by that lovely lot who thought of this amazing competition :)

The team are really excited about this and they cannot wait to see you all and admire your amazing body art.

So what are you waiting for, get entering and let's celebrate your tattoos!

Well hello again my lovely bloggers from a very happy Family Photographer East Sussex! Why am I happy, well it's sunny, everything is in blossom and I love this time of year :)

So let me introduce you to the Dowsett family who have been coming to me for many years. I have watched their boys grow, I have witnessed braces, dare I say it spots and now I see two very handsome young men in front of me. I really do not know where the time has gone because Mum, Dad and I don't look a day older ;)

Paula called me in response to our Easter promotion so she was able to take advantage of our complimentary sitting. I do like to give lots of variety in a shoot, so we definitely had to do some high key photography; that is the official term for a bright white background. The reason why is because I like to keep a continuity for them, so the images of the boys when they were young will sit side by side nicely with the most recent shoot. Now the boys aren't quite boys anymore I also wanted to do something a little different for them, it's sort of marking their transition from boys to men…isn't that the name of a boy band!!!! Get me being all 'with it' or not as they case may be :D

I am always on the lookout for an unusual background and when I saw this one I just knew I had to have it. So far it is proving very versatile in the studio and it really suited the style I wanted for the Cameron and Nathan and I hope you all agree.

I always like to have products that will suit the different styles of photography I produce and I am so pleased that Paula and Paul chose our really unusual aluminescent wall art for the picture of Cameron and Nathan. I don't usually do this but I thought I would show you what Paula and Paul chose for their order; there are so many options and it is nice to be able to give you an idea of what is on offer. They chose two of our frames for the quad and trio layouts; these really do look smashing on the wall as finished products, as I said previously the boys look very dashing on one of our Alumincescent pieces of wall art; this product is metal and just so hard to describe whilst trying to do it justice. The image of Paula has a story to it. Now I am sure Paula won't mind me telling you that she thinks she doesn't take a good photograph; I think she looks amazing and this time I was determined that she would have a nice little mounted print of just her to look at, really just to remind herself that she is beautiful. She did it a bit grudgingly, but how the tables have turned because this is now going to be her facebook image! I love it when a plan comes together ;)

If you are ever in the area, please feel free to pop in and have a look at the many lovely things we have on offer because trying to describe them here is a bit like 'smellyvision'…it doesn't work!

Enjoy the rest of your week and whatever you are all up to have a brilliant weekend.